Jean MacCurdy | |
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Jean H. MacCurdy is an American television executive, best known for her role as president of Warner Bros. Animation from 1989 to 2001.
Jean MacCurdy | |
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Jean H. MacCurdy is an American television executive, best known for her role as president of Warner Bros. Animation from 1989 to 2001.
MacCurdy began her career as a secretary in the Children's Programming Department at the NBC Television Network in Burbank, California in 1974. In 1976 she was promoted to Manager of Children's Programs by Margaret Loesch, then Director of Children's Programs. MacCurdy was hired by Warner Bros. Animation in 1980, and eventually became a vice president and general manager. In 1983, she left to become an executive for Hanna-Barbera, supervising the production of shows such as The Smurfs and Superfriends .
After a brief stint in 1988–89 at Marvel Productions as VP of Production, MacCurdy was re-hired by Warner Bros. in November 1989 to establish a television animation production operation to produce original content for television. [1] She hired several members of the creative team at Hanna-Barbera, including Tom Ruegger, Paul Dini, and later Alan Burnett, to form the creative team of her first Warner production, the Steven Spielberg-executive produced Tiny Toon Adventures , which ran in syndication.
Under MacCurdy's leadership, Warner Bros. Animation experienced a second renaissance, producing very popular children's programming and winning several Emmys. [2] The company's output was expanded to include other successful programming for the Fox TV during the early 1990s such as Taz-Mania , Batman: The Animated Series , The Plucky Duck Show , Animaniacs , and "Pinky and the Brain."
In 1995, Warner Bros. launched The WB television network, and made the Warner Bros. Animation shows exclusive to it. [1] New shows produced for The WB's Kids' WB block included Superman: The Animated Series , Pinky and the Brain , Freakazoid! , The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries , Road Rovers , Waynehead , Histeria , Batman Beyond , Detention and Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain . [1] During MacCurdy's tenure, Warner Bros. Animation was also the parent company of Hanna-Barbera following the Time Warner/Turner merger, until it was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001. MacCurdy resigned as head of Warner Bros. Animation in 2001, and was replaced by Sander Schwartz.
In 1997, MacCurdy was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her work to enhance and improve the perception of women through the medium of television. [3]
MacCurdy lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and companion of 45 years, William Hogan. She participated in the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con panel on the creation of Tiny Toon Adventures , Freakazoid! , and Animaniacs , in San Diego, California.
| Years | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | The Dukes | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1983–1984 | Pac-Man | Executive In Charge of Production |
| The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show | Executive In Charge of Production | |
| The Biskitts | Executive In Charge of Production | |
| 1983–1985 | The Smurfs | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1984–1985 | Challenge of the GoBots | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1985–1986 | Paw Paws | Executive In Charge of Production |
| The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians | Executive In Charge of Production | |
| 1985 | The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1990–1995 | Tiny Toon Adventures | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1991–1995 | Taz-Mania | Executive Producer |
| 1992–1995 | Batman: The Animated Series | Executive Producer |
| 1992 | The Plucky Duck Show | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1993–1998 | Animaniacs | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1995–1999 | The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries | Executive Producer |
| 1995–1997 | Freakazoid! | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1995–1998 | Pinky and the Brain | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1996–2000 | Superman: The Animated Series | Executive Producer |
| 1996–1997 | Road Rovers | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1996–1997 | Waynehead | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1997–1998 | The New Batman Adventures | Executive Producer |
| 1998–2000 | Histeria! | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1998–1999 | Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain | Executive In Charge of Production |
| 1999–2001 | Batman Beyond | Executive Producer |
| 1999–2000 | Detention | Executive Producer |
| 2000–2002 | Static Shock | Executive Producer |
| 2001–2002 | Justice League | Executive Producer |
Hanna-Barbera was an American animation studio and production company, active from 1957 until it was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's decision to close its in-house cartoon studio, and was formerly headquartered on Cahuenga Blvd from 1960 until 1998 and at the Sherman Oaks Galleria in Sherman Oaks, both in Los Angeles, California.
Tiny Toon Adventures is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first animated series produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation. The show follows the adventures of a group of young cartoon characters who attend Acme Looniversity to become the next generation of characters from the Looney Tunes series.
Freakazoid! is an American superhero comedy animated television series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and developed by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB. The series chronicles the adventures of the title character, Freakazoid, a crazy teenage superhero who fights crime in Washington, D.C. It also features mini-episodes about the adventures of other superheroes. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Television, being the third animated series produced through the collaboration of Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation after Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs.
The Plucky Duck Show is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. It is a short-lived spin-off of Tiny Toon Adventures concentrating attention mainly on Plucky Duck himself. It premiered on September 19, 1992 and ended on December 12, with a total of 13 episodes.
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1933 to 1969, the studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. Warner Bros. re-established its animation division in 1980 to produce Looney Tunes–related works, and Turner Broadcasting System merged with WBD predecessor Time Warner in 1996. In March 2001, Hanna-Barbera was absorbed into the studio.
Richard Stone was an American composer. He played an important part in the revival of Warner Bros. animation in the 1990s, composing music and songs for Looney Tunes, Tiny Toon Adventures, Taz-Mania, The Plucky Duck Show, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain, Histeria!, The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, Freakazoid!, and Road Rovers, as well as the Warner Bros. Family Entertainment fanfare. Many consider him to be an heir to the style of Carl W. Stalling.
Tom Ruegger is an American animator and songwriter. Ruegger is known for his association with Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation. He also created Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Histeria!.
Mike Milo is an American animator, director, storyboard artist, writer, and producer in the television industry. He is currently directing the new series Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? at Warner Bros. Animation. He was an animation director on Uncle Grandpa as well as Craig of the Creek, both for Cartoon Network. He was also a story artist on Curious George for Universal. In 2012, he worked as a storyboard artist for The Fairly OddParents, and developed a pilot with Butch Hartman. Before that, he directed the animated series Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja at Titmouse, Inc. for Disney XD. He is also known to have designed the characters for the Comedy Central series Brickleberry, although he is uncredited. Before that, he was a story artist on the show Phineas and Ferb for Disney Channel and co-wrote nine episodes for that series. Growing up in Old Tappan, New Jersey, he began his animation career in 1990 animating commercials for Broadcast Arts in New York City. Subsequently, he worked for Sierra On-Line and Warner Bros., again as an animator working on Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Tazmania, Pinky and the Brain and Histeria!. He has also worked for Disney Television Animation, Frederator Studios, Film Roman, Hanna-Barbera, Universal Animation Studios, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network Studios, DIC Entertainment, Saban, Mike Young Productions, and other smaller studios.
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain is an American animated sitcom featuring characters from the television series Tiny Toon Adventures and Pinky and the Brain, both created by Tom Ruegger. Serving as a spin-off and crossover to the two series, the series was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Television. It aired from 1998 to 1999 on Kids' WB, running for 13 episodes. This show would be Spielberg's final collaborative effort with Warner Bros. Animation until the 2020 revival of Animaniacs.
Tom Minton is an American animator, producer, writer, and storyboard artist. He created and wrote the "Toby Danger" episode of Freakazoid!, wrote the lyrics to the song "Brainstem" and served as the chief model for the Warner Bros. character the Brain in Pinky and the Brain. He was story editor of Ralph Bakshi's Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, a 1987 series art-directed by John Kricfalusi.
John P. McCann is an American-born writer, actor and producer who has mostly focused on writing/producing animation and family-friendly scripts in the past. He is best known for his work on television cartoons, for which he has received numerous awards, but he has also produced live-action screenplays and television scripts. At present McCann is also working on short stories, and a novella. His fiction tends to be either darkly humorous or horror-related.
Pinky and the Brain is an American animated sitcom created by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and a collaboration of Steven Spielberg with his production company Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation. The characters first appeared in 1993 as a recurring segment on the animated television series Animaniacs. It was later spun off as a series due to its popularity, with 65 episodes produced. The characters later appeared in the series Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain, and have since returned to their roots as an Animaniacs segment in the 2020 revival of that series.
Animaniacs is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, until the series ended on November 14, 1998. It is the second animated series produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Animation, after Tiny Toon Adventures. It initially ran a total of 99 episodes, along with a feature-length film, Wakko's Wish. Reruns later aired on Cartoon Network from 1997 to 2001, Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2003, Nicktoons from 2003 to 2005, and Discovery Family from 2012 to 2014.
Tooncast is a Latin American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its International division. It was launched on December 1, 2008; its programming consists of classical animation, both from Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network. The channel is a commercial-free service.
Andrea Romano is an American former casting director, voice director, and voice actress whose work includes Batman: The Animated Series, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Bonkers, Freakazoid!, Pinky and the Brain, Teen Titans, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, The Boondocks, Static Shock, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Batman Beyond, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants and multiple Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics direct-to-video films including: Wonder Woman and Green Lantern: First Flight. Her voice acting, as of 2010, consists of minor roles in television series, direct-to-video films, and video games.
Russell P. "Rusty" Mills was an American animator, director and producer. A Primetime Emmy winner, Mills was best known for his work with Warner Bros. Animation, including Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, and Pinky and the Brain. Mills was a five time Emmy winner, receiving one Primetime Emmy and four Daytime Emmy awards.
What's Up Doc? was a children's program which aired on the Nine Network in Australia from 31 July 1993 until 24 December 1999. It centred on the showing of Warner Bros. cartoons and hosted segments with additional original elements. It followed on from The Bugs Bunny Show, a similar program hosted by Sophie Lee, which aired from 1990 until 1992.
Animaniacs is an American animated comedy musical television series developed by Wellesley Wild and Steven Spielberg for Hulu. A reboot of the 1993–1998 animated television series of the same name created by Tom Ruegger, the new series sees the return of the Warner siblings, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, and Pinky and the Brain.
